Ottawa extends consultation period for RBC-HSBC deal after technical difficulties

The federal government is giving more time for Canadians to submit their thoughts on the Royal Bank of Canada's deal to buy HSBC Bank Canada. An HSBC sign is pictured in Ottawa on Sept. 7, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

OTTAWA — The federal government is giving more time for Canadians to submit their thoughts on the Royal Bank of Canada's deal to buy HSBC Bank Canada.

Ottawa extended the consultation period by 15 days to July 21 after technical difficulties prevented the Finance Department from receiving the content of some submissions sent by email.

It says the technical issues have been resolved.

RBC announced a deal in November 2022 to buy HSBC Bank Canada for $13.5 billion in cash.

Both the Competition Bureau and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions are also reviewing the transaction, which requires approval from the minister of finance.

The public consultations by the Finance Department are separate from the public request for information issued by the Competition Bureau.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.